Bruins, Blackhawks haven't met since 2011

Bruins, Blackhawks haven't met since 2011

Tyler Seguin, Nathan Horton and the Bruins kick off their seven-game series with the Blackhawks on Wednesday night. (Getty Images)

The last time the Bruins faced the Blackhawks, Newt Gingrich was battling Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination, Curtis Painter was the starting QB of the Indianapolis Colts and LeBron James was ringless. In other words, it’s been awhile.

The Bruins beat Chicago in a shootout, 3-2, on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011 at United Center with Chris Kelly and Nathan Horton scoring for the B’s and Bryan Bickell and Patrick Kane finding the net for the Blackhawks.

Despite the unfamiliarity, the Bruins certainly know what Chicago is capable of.

““You can say we don’t know the Blackhawks, but it’s pretty obvious they’re a great team,” Zdeno Chara told CSNNE.com. “They’re a very strong lineup. In all of the media coverage that both teams get in their cities, it’s not like we won’t be prepared for each other.”

The two teams will rely solely on videotape of one another to get a feel of their opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.

“Other than what we’ve seen on TV, we don’t really know much about them, other than that they’re a real good hockey club,” Milan Lucic told the Boston Globe. “They’ve probably been the most consistent team since the start of the season. It’s a big reason why they won the President’s Trophy this year.”